When Alyssa Roulo enrolled in the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults, she was in the midst of a personal and professional transition. As a recent college graduate and early-career educator, she found herself yearning for something more: a deeper intellectual community.
“After I graduated from college and became a teacher, I realized that I missed being a part of a learning community,” she reflects. “Ironically, teaching in a school every day did not fulfill my need for an intellectual community, so I began to search elsewhere for people that shared in my pursuit to challenge myself and grow as a person.”
What she found in the Basic Program was not just a space for reflection, but a dynamic and intergenerational community engaged in a shared inquiry.
An Unexpected Discovery
Alyssa first discovered the Basic Program during the COVID-19 pandemic while searching for an online master’s degree. Drawn in by the curriculum, she sensed something deeper behind the reading list.
“I stumbled across the Basic Program during COVID when I was looking for an online English master’s degree program. I was interested in the books on the syllabus and liked the idea of reading with other people who were interested in the same kind of intellectual journey. I didn’t know many people in my life that wanted to read the same books as me, so the Basic Program felt like an opportunity to connect with people, especially during a time when connecting with people in person was challenging.”
What ultimately made the experience most meaningful, she says, was “having the privilege of hearing different perspectives about such incredible books. I was often challenged by other opinions.”
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A Moment That Changed Everything
Early in the Basic Program, Alyssa encountered a text that would become foundational to her experience. Like many Basic Program students, she found that reading the Great Books not only sharpened her critical thinking but also stirred something more personal and emotional.
“I vividly remember reading the scene in Crime and Punishment where a horse is brutalized. That particular scene is relentless and horrifying, but I was captivated by how Dostoevsky’s writing affected me,” she recalls.
That moment sparked something deeper. “When I saw the University of Chicago’s open enrollment courses featuring Dostoevsky’s other novels such as The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot, I enrolled and became even further transformed by Dostoevsky’s ability to capture the psychology of the human mind.”
Since then, she says, the ideas and characters from those readings have stayed with her: “I’m grateful to have read some of Dostoevsky’s works with knowledgeable instructors and thoughtful classmates.”
Bringing the Experience Into the Classroom
Now a middle school educator, Alyssa finds that her experience in the Basic Program has shaped not only how she reads, but how she teaches. The intellectual rigor and rich discussions she engaged in through the program have deepened her appreciation for literature as a living conversation, a dynamic space where ideas about the human experience are explored and challenged.
“In my professional life as a teacher, I’m striving to facilitate more impactful discussions with my students,” she says. “Many students struggle with foundational reading skills and end up hating the process of reading before they have the chance to connect with a great book. My experience in the Basic Program put into perspective what a person can gain intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually from having conversations about what it means to be human.”
She hopes to bring that spirit into her own classroom, creating space for her students to “share in those conversations” and “foster an appreciation for the art of reading.”
Why the Basic Program Matters at Any Age
Having started the program in her mid-twenties, Alyssa offers a unique perspective on what it means to engage with the Great Books early in adulthood. Her journey illustrates a core truth about the Basic Program: it is not confined by age or stage of life, but instead offers a shared space where learners of all backgrounds come together to wrestle with the foundational texts that have shaped human thought for centuries.
“The Basic Program is valuable for people of all ages because the stories and ideas explored in the chosen texts are foundational to the human experience,” she says. “Only a couple of years prior, I read Plato’s Meno for the first time for my undergraduate degree, but reading the Meno again with the Basic Program made me feel like I was reading the text for the first time.”
Lifelong Learning, Shared Forward
For Alyssa, the Basic Program was more than an academic experience, it was a catalyst for personal growth and a deeper sense of connection. The conversations she had, the texts she explored, and the community she joined reshaped how she reads, how she teaches, and how she views the world.
That sense of transformation—and gratitude—sparked a desire to give back.
“My four years of involvement in the Basic Program were so impactful and important to me,” she says. “I want others to benefit from the program the same way I have.”
Today, Alyssa is a member of the Graham Circle, a community of philanthropic supporters committed to expanding access to lifelong learning. For her, joining was a way to ensure that others—regardless of background or stage in life—can experience the same kind of deep inquiry and connection that defined her time in the program.
“Learning is a lifelong commitment,” she says. “And there’s only something to gain from discussing great books with incredible people.”
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